Automatic metal wire working machines have been used for a long time. U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,518, for example, shows a bending apparatus for wire also referred to as strip stock. The apparatus uses a rotatable worktable that can rotate in response to a deformation force applied to the strip when it is bent. The worktable can be rotated to work on the strip from different directions. The tool is located on a slide carrier to adjust the tool relative to the center of the turntable. The strip is fed parallel to the plane in which the turntable rotates.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,819 shows a wire bending machine in which stock wire is fed parallel to the plane of a generally flat working platform on which various wire working tools are located to bend the wire. U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,517 illustrates a plurality of wire bending tools distributed around a rotational axis of a fixed platform. Each tool is geared to a ring gear so as to work on a strip material in a predetermined timed relationship with the ring gear rotation. The individual tools are mounted for quick individual removal or installation depending on the requirement for that tool. The strip or wire stock is fed in a direction that is generally parallel to the plane of rotation of the rotating platform. Operation of each tool segment is controlled by the rotation of the ring gear.